Warming seas may increase frequency of extreme rainstorms: NASA

Warming of tropical oceans due to climate change may le to a substantial increase in frequency of extreme rainstorms by end of century, according to a NASA study.

study led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in US combed through 15 years of data acquired by ncy's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument over tropical oceans to determine relationship between aver sea surface temperature and onset of severe storms.

researchers found that extreme storms -- those producing at least three millimetres of rain per hour over a 25-kilometre area -- formed when sea surface temperature was higher than about 28 degrees Celsius.

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study, published in journal Geophysical Research Letters, also found that, based on data, 21 per cent more storms form for every one degree Celsius that ocean surface temperatures rise.

"It is somewhat common sense that severe storms will increase in a warmer environment. Thunderstorms typically occur in warmest season of year," said Hartmut Aumann of JPL.

"But our data provide first quantitative estimate of how much y are likely to increase, at least for tropical oceans," Aumann said.

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Currently accepted climate models project that with a stey increase of carbon dioxide in atmosphere (one per cent per year), tropical ocean surface temperatures may rise by as much as 2.7 degrees Celsius by end of century.

study concludes that if this were to happen, we could expect frequency of extreme storms to increase by as much as 60 per cent by that time.

Although climate models are t perfect, results like se can serve as a guideline for those looking to prepare for potential effects a changing climate may have, researchers said.

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"Our results quantify and give a more visual meaning to consequences of predicted warming of oceans," Aumann said.

"More storms mean more flooding, more structure dam, more crop dam and so on, unless mitigating measures are implemented," he said.